Hello everyone

If you're now looking at my page wondering whether I did it - I did! Unfortunately, I had a bad case of asthma and hadn't prepared for that by having an inhaler so I struggled but ended at c 5.45 and am determined that I will THRASH that when I do another marathon again (yes, I am addicted!)

Thank you for all your support (below) in terms of your kind words and digging into your pockets. I am very grateful and I know it's going to a good cause. Chinmaya printed out my name in full on my T-shirt (normally I just go for "Kam") so only 4 people called out - and one was an Asian copper!

This time I didn't get passed by any fruits - but then I didn't actually see any - cos I was in such a state! I did get passed by: a rhino, the angel of the north, three men pulling a brick wall, Elvis and a man dressed up as Little Miss Naughty. I also was passed by Nishi running for Chinmaya but as she was a team mate I didn't mind (too much).

I missed seeing my mum and kids (she swtiched her mobile off at the critical moment - well, she is an OAP), I missed my trainer (Jamaica Rd was packed), I saw my neighbour on the top of the Saab building, I saw the editor of CT Marcel who has the loudest voice in history - when he called my name all the runners round me jumped! I saw my friend Nicky at 19 with her daughter Lilly who waited hours for me (thank you so much, it really helped me). I saw my cousin Mia who was there at the end and waited for me to stumble through the melee to Trafalgar Square and took me up the stairs to a Waterstone cafe for coffee and realised it was closed so we had to go down the stairs (do you know what that is like after a marathon - you have to walk sideways!) and then we went to Charing X station for coffee but there were no seats and then we walked up the Strand to a Pret and FINALLY sat down - THANKS and thanks for carrying one of my bags.

PS - Photo will be uploaded shortly so you can judge for yourself whether I have fulfilled objective (d).

PPS If you're visiting for the first time and want to know why I'm doing it, do read on and it's not too late to help me reach target...

 

...Thanks for looking at my page. I am running the London marathon for the second time having finished (let's not mention the time) in 2009.

Last year I ran for a UK kids charity. This year I am doing something different.

 

My aims (from the sublime to the ridiculous) are:

a) To raise money for Chinmaya Mission which does a number of good works focussing especially on disadvantaged and underprivileged people. Hundreds of thousands of people benefit from the Mission's schools, colleges, hospitals, diagnostic centres, old age homes and rural village development projects in India.

b) To give something back to the mission, which helps to spread the knowledge of Vedanta and understanding of the sacred Indian texts.

c) To beat my sub six hour time (although as the photo suggests I nearly died achieving that).

d) To look more presentable/alive for my photo.

e) Not to be overtaken by so many fruits.

f) To be photographed overtaking as many fruits as possible.

I am now pounding the South London streets in earnest with these objectives a-f in my mind spurring me on to... possible success/madness. Please help me and my colleague Nishi Nathwani at www.justgiving.com/nishinathwani who is also running for Chinmaya and needs to reach her target too.

 

Now for the blurb...

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.